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Bad Web Design: Graphics Problems

by: Richard Lowe

I know you like to put graphics on your page. There is little
better than a site which has been done by a professional
graphics designer. The perfect balance between graphics, color,
fonts, photos and layout is rare and a wonder to behold.

Graphic Designers from our Community

On the other hand, a site with bad graphics or some obvious
blunders can be agonizing and even painful to look at. Here are
some of the more common errors.

Large Graphics

Large graphics have their place on the web. Some sites give away
massive numbers of wallpaper images, which by definition are
very large. In fact, I know of a site which offers over a
thousand Tomb Raider wallpapers that is very good.

What you want to avoid is using large graphics on your main
pages. Instead, you can use a technique such as showing
thumbnail images or links to the larger graphics. Thus, those
people who want the large graphics can get them, while those who
do not are not forced to wait for them to load. The Tomb Raider
site solved this problem by including 100 very small (32 x 32
pixel) thumbnails on a page. Clicking on an image displays the
larger wall wallpaper.

Improperly Optimized Graphics

All of the common graphics formats (GIF, PNG and JPG) allow for
compression of various kinds. One common error is to not take
advantage of this compression. For example, you can cut down the
number of colors in a GIF image, which makes it smaller. Or you
can increase the loss percentage in a JPG, substantially
reducing it's size.

Why do you want to do this? Simply so that your visitors do not
have to wait for a long time while your graphics load.

Animations

Check the section called "Animation Mistakes" for many common
errors with animated graphics. Suffice to say that less is
generally better.

Graphics which Require Plug-Ins

There are some graphics formats which require exotic and obscure
plug-ins in order to be seen. While there are advantages to
using plug-ins (Adobe Acrobat comes to mind as an excellent
plug-in to use) they should be avoided when possible. Most of
your visitors will not take the time to install a plug-in just
to see your web site.

Garish backgrounds

Keep your background graphics simple and neat. You want to make
sure the graphics are subtle and contract greatly with your
text. In other words do not use a light pink background with
light red characters. Very hard to read. Also avoid neon or
other bright backgrounds - these tend to so overpower your web
site that people leave almost immediately.

About the author:
Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets.
This website includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your
internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge. Web Site Address:
http://www.internet-tips.net Weekly newsletter:
http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htm Daily Tips:
mailto:internet-tips@GetResponse.com